Nearly half of the Rockford IceHogs are newcomers, and have heard tales about the BMO Harris Bank Center atmosphere, fan support, etc.

Tonight, they’ll finally get to experience it all.

Fourteen days after opening the 2013-14 American Hockey League season, the ’Hogs are finally able to unpack those suitcases.

“Most of these guys haven’t even practiced at the BMO yet,” head coach Ted Dent said. “So they don’t know what it’s like to be on the ice there.”

The players are eager to clash with the Grand Rapids Griffins at 7 p.m. Saturday.

“It will be nice to get in our own building in front of our fans and see what it’s like,” said rookie winger Drew LeBlanc. “I have no idea what it’s going to be like at all. It should be a good experience and fun.”

Certainly, it will be different. The IceHogs had to play their first five games away, and seven out of eight total, because of renovations at BMO.

Center Brad Mills played part of last season with Rockford, and, as a veteran, is a player sought for advice.

“It’s always fun to play in front of the crowd here,” he said. “When you’re home, you don’t have to travel, so you’re a little fresher maybe.

“Obviously, as a group, we’re excited to get things started here.”

The ‘Hogs opened in Texas for two games, then spent back-to-back nights in Lake Erie. They were competitive in all but the second game against the Lake Erie Monsters.

Competitive, yes. But with flaws to fix.

After allowing 100 shots on goal the first weekend, the ‘Hogs still ranked last in the American Hockey League entering the week allowing 39.5 shots on goal per game. Rockford played at Chicago on Friday night to conclude the opening road swing.

“A lot of those shots have been coming from the outside,” Mills said. “We are doing a good job taking away Grade A scoring chances.

“Puck possession is going to be a big key for us, cutting down on turnovers in the neutral zone so we can spend more time in the offensive end. That way we stay out of our defensive end, so we’ll cut down on shots and scoring chances against.”

Dent saw a marked improvement the second weekend away. He figured that his team “outchanced” Lake Erie in both confrontations.

Page 2 of 2 - “We kept them to 12 or under both games,” he calculated. “A lot of shots were from the perimeter, shots we think the goaltender should have in the way we do things here.

“Now, we just have to battle hard in front of the net, tie up sticks and make sure the other team doesn’t get second and third rebounds.”